47 Facts About Uruguay

Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America.

The predominant tribe at the moment of the arrival of Europeans was the Charrua people, when the Portuguese first established Colonia do Sacramento in 1680; Uruguay was colonized by Europeans late relative to neighboring countries.

Uruguay won its independence between 1811 and 1828, following a four-way struggle between Portugal and Spain, and later Argentina and Brazil.

Uruguay is today a democratic constitutional republic, with a president who serves as both head of state and head of government.

Uruguay is ranked first in Latin America in democracy, peace, low perception of corruption, and e-government.

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Uruguay is the third-best country on the continent in terms of Human Development Index, GDP growth, innovation, and infrastructure.

Uruguay is regarded as one of the most socially progressive countries in Latin America.

Uruguay is a founding member of the United Nations, OAS, and Mercosur.

Country name of Uruguay derives from the namesake Rio Uruguay, from the Indigenous Guarani language.

Uruguay then became a zone of contention between the Spanish and Portuguese empires.

The political scene in Uruguay became split between two parties: the conservative Blancos headed by the second President Manuel Oribe, representing the agricultural interests of the countryside; and the liberal Colorados led by the first President Fructuoso Rivera, representing the business interests of Montevideo.

Uruguay's inauguration coincided with the effects of the Great Depression, and the social climate became tense as a result of the lack of jobs.

Uruguay is the only country in South America situated entirely south of the Tropic of Capricorn.

Uruguay has a largely uniform temperature throughout the year, with summers being tempered by winds off the Atlantic; severe cold in winter is unknown.

Uruguay is a representative democratic republic with a presidential system.

Uruguay is a unitary state: justice, education, health, security, foreign policy and defense are all administered nationwide.

In March 2020, Uruguay got a conservative government, meaning the end of 15 years of left-wing leadership under the Broad Front coalition.

Uruguay ranked 27th in the Freedom House "Freedom in the World" index.

Uruguay is divided into 19 departments whose local administrations replicate the division of the executive and legislative powers.

Brazil and Uruguay have signed cooperation agreements on defence, science, technology, energy, river transportation and fishing, with the hope of accelerating political and economic integration between these two neighbouring countries.

Uruguay has enjoyed friendly relations with the United States since its transition back to democracy.

The United States and Uruguay have cooperated on military matters, with both countries playing significant roles in the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti.

On 15 March 2011, Uruguay became the seventh South American nation to officially recognize a Palestinian state, although there was no specification for the Palestinian state's borders as part of the recognition.

In 2017, Uruguay signed the UN treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

In March 2020, Uruguay rejoined the Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance .

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In September 2019, the previous left-wing government of Uruguay had withdrawn from TIAR as a response to the very critical view of Venezuela the other members of the regional defense agreement had.

In 1994 and 1995, Uruguay faced economic difficulties caused by the liberalization of foreign trade, which increased the trade deficit.

Uruguay experienced a major economic and financial crisis between 1999 and 2002, principally a spillover effect from the economic problems of Argentina.

Uruguay terminated the agreement in 2006 following the early repayment of its debt but maintained a number of the policy commitments.

Between the years 2007 and 2009, Uruguay was the only country in the Americas that did not technically experience a recession .

Uruguay was ranked 65th in the Global Innovation Index in 2021, down from 62nd in 2019.

Tourism industry in Uruguay is an important part of its economy.

Cultural experiences in Uruguay include exploring the country's colonial heritage, as found in Colonia del Sacramento.

Uruguay is the Latin American country that receives the most tourists in relation to its population.

Uruguay has no official religion; church and state are officially separated, and religious freedom is guaranteed.

Uruguay's secularization began with the relatively minor role of the church in the colonial era, compared with other parts of the Spanish Empire.

Education in Uruguay is secular, free, and compulsory for 14 years, starting at the age of 4.

Uruguay is part of the One Laptop per Child project, and in 2009 became the first country in the world to provide a laptop for every primary school student, as part of the Plan Ceibal.

Uruguay drew from both Timbuktu and Mykonos to create his best-known work: his home, hotel and atelier Casapueblo near Punta del Este.

Uruguay has a small but growing film industry, and movies such as Whisky by Juan Pablo Rebella and Pablo Stoll, Marcelo Bertalmio's Los dias con Ana and Ana Diez's Paisito, about the 1973 military coup, have earned international honours.

Early classical music in Uruguay showed heavy Spanish and Italian influence, but since the 20th century a number of composers of classical music, including Eduardo Fabini, Vicente Ascone, and Hector Tosar, have made use of Latin American musical idioms.

Meat being the principal dish, due to Uruguay being one of the world's largest producers of quality meat.

Uruguay won gold at the 1924 Paris Olympic Games and again in 1928 in Amsterdam.

Uruguay won the inaugural tournament on home soil in 1930 and again in 1950, famously defeating home favourites Brazil in the final match.

Uruguay has won the Copa America 15 times, such as Argentina, the last one in 2011.

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Uruguay has by far the smallest population of any country that has won a World Cup.

Uruguay performed very creditably in the 2010 FIFA World Cup, having reached the semi-final for the first time in 40 years.